Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee has just issued a Plan to implement the policy of free general education textbooks in the city in 2026.
Accordingly, textbooks are purchased and organized by the state budget for students to borrow and use during the school year, and then returned to the school library to continue serving other students.
The plan applies to general education students, learners at public and private educational institutions implementing education programs issued by the Ministry of Education and Training, including the General Education Program, the Continuing Education Program for secondary and high school levels, and the Illiteracy Eradication Program in the City.
According to the roadmap, in the 2026-2027 school year, the City will implement free textbooks according to the actual borrowing needs of parents and students, in order to save and avoid waste.
In the 2027-2028 and 2028-2029 school years, educational institutions will continue to survey the demand for book borrowing, review the number of existing books for reuse, and at the same time forecast the need for supplementation, towards completing free textbooks for all students according to the provisions of Decree No. 271/2026/ND-CP.
Educational institutions organize for students to borrow books at the school library at the beginning of the school year or the beginning of each semester; the handover must be completed no later than 15 days before the opening day.
During use, students are responsible for preserving the assigned books. After the end of the school year, students must return the full set of borrowed books to the school library within a working period of no more than 15 working days; cases of transfer or dropping out of school must also return books according to regulations, except in cases where students have a need to continue using them for review, re-examination or completion of the learning program.
When students transfer to another educational institution, students must complete the return of books at the old school before completing relevant administrative procedures. The receiving school is responsible for reviewing, balancing and arranging books for new students, ensuring that learning is not interrupted.
The plan requires that the exemption of textbooks must ensure the right subjects, fairness, thrift and efficiency. Before deciding to purchase new books, educational institutions must prioritize using existing books and transferring books between schools at the same level through the library inter-agency mechanism.
Every year, educational institutions review the number of students, usage needs and the number of existing books to determine the number to buy new or supplement.
The Department of Education and Training summarizes the needs of the whole City, submits to the City People's Committee for approval the forecast of textbook demand before October 30th every year, as a basis for preparing the budget estimate for the next school year.
For books damaged by natural wear, the state budget is allocated funds for additional purchases annually.
The city also allows provision purchases to serve cases of sudden increases in the number of students during the school year, but not exceeding 10% of the total number of textbooks currently available in the library.
